Friday, 13 October 2017

Men
are not superior to women

Please read the title of blog again. Men
are not superior to women. Having said that, women are not superior to men too.
They are two genders of humans. Are they the same? Absolutely not. They are
evidently different. It is this difference which we should celebrate.

Now, have a look at the picture given here. It is from an advertisement brought out by a firm that makes suits for women. It
is wrong on so many levels. I don’t think many people understand feminism in
its true sense. Many tend to think that feminism is about showcasing women as
better beings than men. At times, some people think it is about falsely
emulating all things bad about men. For instance, if some men choose to use
abusive words while talking, some women who have a false understanding of feminism
also use abusive words. Abusive words are unpleasant, be it used by men or
women. To my mind, feminism is about equality for the female gender. She should
not be discriminated against, in any regard due to her gender. Men and women
are different beings but not inferior or superior in any way in comparison to each
other.

This Ad is a perfect example of using
feminism in the wrong way. It showcases women in suits with naked men in the
background. What is this Ad trying to say? If one wears a suite, will they
become powerful? Does having naked people in your house mean power or wealth?
Does having power and money give you the ability to hire people? Does having power
and money give you the ability to do anything you want to the people around
you?

Some people might argue that this is
just a role reversal of what we see in advertising. Well, this is lazy and irresponsible
creativity to say the least. By that logic, imagine an Ad against child abuse -
The picture has a child abusing an adult. How is it justified? It is exactly
that which is happening here. Should advertisements stop objectifying women?
They must. But this is not how you make them do it.

Now, let us look at the race here. All
men featured in the Ad have white skin. Why? Reverse
this and imagine the furore this Ad would have caused. If that is wrong, this
too is wrong. We need to look at people and provide them opportunities for who
they are as human beings and not for what their skin color is.

This
Ad is a very uneducated, provocative take on issues which needs to be dealt
with taking time, effort, context and finesse.

Friday, 19 May 2017

Indian National Anthem

Every single time I hear our national anthem, I get goose bumps. It reminds me ever so gently, the greatness of our fascinating country. There was an ongoing debate if we should play the national anthem at the movie theaters or not. I saw some merit in those arguments. Where I did not see a merit was when some people were wondering if we should stand up for the national anthem at all. What is there to debate in respecting one’s national anthem? Do we debate if we should respect our elders? Anyway, the decision of playing the national anthem is already made. So there is no point going back to that debate again. The reason I am writing this blog is the way in which the National Anthem is played in the theaters these days.

I am a movie buff. I watch at least 3 movies a week. In all the theaters that I go to, all we get to hear is a usual rendition of the national anthem - nothing awe inspiring! It is a movie theater and the moments when the anthem is played can be made MAGICAL, to say the least. We have so many beautiful renditions of the anthem as below:

Have a look at another beautiful rendition of the anthem by a set of some incredibly gifted children.Watch this video from BIG Cinemas and I assure you that you will be moved. It is such a breathtakingly beautiful depiction that it will leave you a lasting memory. At a time when there is a lot of debate about the need for unity among people from different walks of our country and world at large, imagine what such a beautiful message on National integration can do!

Imagine watching your national anthem beautifully depicted on the vast expanse of the silver screen. What a beautiful moment that will be! This is a humble petition to the theater chains to include the depiction of our national anthem in a way that lives up to its greatness.

Thursday, 3 November 2016

I have always admired people who can capture a moment in time more beautifully than we, the lesser mortals see it. Yes, the magicians who create magic with a lens and a click – Photographers! Such talented people. I shared some of my pictures with one of my friends, who is a very talented artist. He told me “Yea, these are ok. You will get better”. I was not exactly excited to hear those words. But I know what he meant and he is too earnest a friend J. It takes a lot of patience, an eye for detail and an eye for beauty that we see around us to get that perfect click. So I will keep trying.

Meanwhile, I thought I will try and share what was going through my mind when I was clicking these pictures. It is indeed true that a picture speaks a 1000 words. And the best part, it speaks different sets of words to each of us. So here goes J

This was clicked at the Infosys office in Chennai. In that moment, I was thinking, how much ever we try, we rarely come close to what nature can achieve. Look at the magnificent canopy that nature has created for itself and for us! Do you see the little patches of light on the road? Intricate, isn’t it? And many a time, we get so caught up with our work and life to pause and take a look around. It is all that takes to make our day.

Looks can be deceptive. These Jalebis were not as tasty as they looked. I wish if I hadn’t eaten them before taking a click. Had I not tasted, I would have had a happy memory around this pic. Now when I see it, all I can think of is the mild disappointment. I always eat the dessert first if it’s on my plate. Patience doesn’t really come to my help in those moments. How about you?

I feel there isn’t even one color in the world which is not present in this picture. These are handmade, little flowers made out of palm and coconut leaves. I have always been drawn to handicraft. What intrigues me is the fact that each and every one of these little things is made by a person. It is not created by the mere movement of machines. There is a story behind each of them.

Words fail when we try to describe the beauty of fire. My wife and I were out for a stroll at night. There was this fire burning by the road side. Being in Bangalore, fire and its warmth from the distance is quite welcome. I stopped and stared for a while admiring how fascinating fire is. Very few things in life can destroy with as much grace and poise the way fire does.

Now, those of you who have spent your childhood in Kerala would relate to this picture. This is a little bucket resting on the pavement of a well waiting to be flung in. In olden houses of Kerala, these windows will open out to the well from the kitchen. There will be a similar window on the other side of the well that opens to the bathroom. Much before motor pumps started humming, water used to come up in these little buckets. This picture brings back memories of childhood.

Like the above pics? Want to be bombarded with such images on a regular basis? ;). Please follow me on Instagram. My Insta handle is roamdworld .Check out the other Pictories:Find Pictory #2 hereFind Pictory#3 hereFind Pictory#4 hereThank you dear Nandakumar uncle for putting this idea of Phlogging (Photo – Blogging, as he calls it) in my head.

Monday, 27 July 2015

Homage to Inspiration

Very rarely, there comes along a person who
transcends all man-made boundaries be it of region, religion or race; one whose
life story becomes an inspiration to others who come to know of him either through
words or through experience.

Many
a time, it is the designation that one attains through a lifetime of
industriousness that adds glory to a person. But at times, it so happens that
the person himself becomes such a luminary that the designation he carries
glows in reflected glory.

Thank
you Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam for giving us reasons to believe in our
beliefs and the audacity to dream our dreams.

Sunday, 26 July 2015

Small
talks aren’t Small

During
my MBA days, I remember thinking about a paradox concerning myself. Whenever
someone asked me as to why I wanted to pursue a course in HR, I used to tell
them that I am people’s person. Slowly I was wondering if I were really one. I
found it easy to relate to people and get along with different kinds of people.
But I preferred limiting my conversations to the specifics. I did not believe
much in small talks and extended conversations with people outside my friends
circle. My friend, Vivek on the other hand always took an effort to strike up a
conversation. Be it with the watchman of the university or with the Dean. I saw
that it was working well for him. There was always an extra bit of lee way
given to him by these people.

Once
I started working, I realized small talks matter! They are the easiest means to
build relationships. I work in a firm
which is known for its processes. Numerous tasks are designed to work through
flawless processes. Even then, there are times when human intervention is
needed. Slowly and steadily, I was realizing it is people who get things done
and not processes. This is as much true for an entry level employee to a
someone at a vice president’s level. The reason being if we go strictly by
processes, there are things which people are expected to do and they will do it.
But if you have to get them to go the extra mile, they need to have a personal
stake in it. This personal stake comes through relationship building.

It
is wonderful to see how extra helpful people become if you spend a couple of
minutes talking to them. I was working from a different office last week and
hence was completely unaware of the smaller details of that office – where can
I get a photocopy, whom do I talk to fix the projector and such. I wanted to
conduct a training session for the senior managers. The training room’s key had
to be collected from the security. While doing that, I spent about 3 minutes
talking to that person asking where he is from, how long he has been with the
company, his name and such details. Once the training was over, I again spent a
couple of minutes with this person. I told him how tiring a day it was and
listened to his woes too. I asked him about the ongoing construction in the
campus even though I knew what those buildings were for. The second day, I
wanted some photocopies for the session and guess who helped me! It was not his
duty to help me but he did since we were less of colleagues by then and more of
friends.

From
the above situation, I feel the art of small talks has to take a 3 pronged approach.
The first stage is to get introduced. Once the getting to know each other on a
basic level is achieved, try and relate to that person. It is important in this
stage to not patronize the other person especially in a work environment. One
should connect like peers would. The third stage is to seek answers even if it
is for questions to which you already have an answer to. This way, the other
person feels that you rely on them and hence trusts them and they in turn would
begin trusting you.

Having
said this, please do not start small talks on a superficial or a selfish level
merely to get things done. People are smart enough to see through such
attempts. We should look at it as an opportunity to build a relationship.

Tuesday, 21 July 2015

Tweet
against Modi!

At first, it was Miss. Seth. Now, it is Miss. Dhupia. I
am beginning to wonder if there is a pattern. Has tweeting against the PM
become a quick and easy way to get some attention?

For those of you who
are not on twitter, this is how it works. A celebrity or someone half a
celebrity tweets against the PM. He has an ardent fan following on twitter. To
an extent that some of them are not open to any sort of criticism against their
leader – constructive or otherwise. The moment a tweet criticizing the PM is
made on twitter, there will be numerous reactions-good, bad and ugly. This
makes the profile of the person who made the criticism, very visible. Now, the
person who gets attacked on the twitter starts lamenting that he/she was abused
for whatever one said.

What I fail to understand
is this victim card which this person plays. What are they surprised and complaining
about? Is it about the negative reaction that they got? I don’t think this is
something new. When it comes to matters of religion, region or politics, we as
a country has always been quite passionate. Many of us tend to lose reason and
perspective when we discuss the above said issues. Just that on twitter, all
these reactions are on a much larger scale and hence the visibility is higher.
Even otherwise, when you make an observation or an opinion, one must be ready
to accept the backlash especially when it is against the popular opinion. Now,
do you think our celebrities are not aware of this? All of them are well read,
well traveled and well informed. They are cognizant of what is going to come
their way.

Now, what does a
celebrity stand to gain from it? Much, apparently. If you are not an A-league
star, it is imperative that you make efforts to remain in public memory. This
is because their popularity has a direct bearing on their career. How years of
experience is to a working professional is how popularity is to a celebrity. In
this day and age of information deluge, it is very easy for the public to
forget a celebrity. When such an incident on twitter happens, the celebrity
springs back to popular gaze. It is almost similar to having a new film
released for them. Add a bit of smart PR work to it, write an open letter if
you are good with words, get some other celebrities to share a few words of concern
for you and voila, you are back in the game of being popular.

You might ask so what about
the vicious personal attacks against them? Are they justified? Not at all! But
not expecting them is like wishing away all that is bad in the world. We do not
live in a Utopia. We are far from it. There are people of all sorts around us.
There are options on twitter to delete a tweet. Why do the celebrities wait
till the tweet to get re tweeted by 1000s of people? Why do they wait for all
the abuses to come? If you see personal attacks coming your way and if you can’t
take it, you delete it right at the beginning. So you do need the attention and
the popularity. One might say that is his/her right to expression. Doesn’t the
same hold good for the people who react? They might be doing it in a crude way.
But that’s who they are. You can’t expect everyone to react the way you want
them to.

When you cut onions,
you do get tears. The question is if one is claiming that they are tears of
heart ache and reaping some sympathy!

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

An Earth hour a day

Yesterday,
all of us had returned from office by around 8 at night. By 9 o clock,
the power in our apartment was gone. Being in Chennai, there is nothing
romantic about a power cut, whatever time of the day it is, thanks to the
weather! Still, we were hopeful that the power will be back soon. We started
talking. The conversation took many detours and went down the long winding
lane of memories. We realized that we were drowned in silence when the
power was there. The only sounds which were making our presence felt in the
room were the pings emanating from our cell phones.

I
remember the power cuts which used to be a routine when we were in school. This
is the time when the candles of the house come out from hiding. The elders in the family will seek
solace in the handmade-newspaper fans and we, the children used to huddle around
the candles. This is when wax creativity attained new heights at times, putting
even Madame Tussauds to shame. Another art form which originates during the
power cuts are the shadow wars. We make all sorts of shadows manipulating the
light which the candle spreads on the walls.

But
what I really miss is the little conversations which used to shine through like stars on a cloudy night. Usually, the conversations begin within the age groups. The elders in
the family will discuss their own woes of life while the younger ones
indulge in things which matter to them. Slowly, the conversation cuts across ages
and moves in to certain aspects which all of us were interested in. I remember
one of my uncles using those dark half hours to tell us stories of his difficult childhood. Once we asked him as to why he always chose power cuts
to tell us such stories. He said “ Because, darkness provides the comfort of
not worrying about what one’s eyes look like when one remembers the tougher
times of life. It also gives one the courage which comes from not having to
look another in their eyes while speaking” We did not understand what he meant
back then. Now we do.

I
think we all should celebrate Earth hour every day where we sit disconnected
from all the wired extensions which have begun to dominate our lives in more
ways than one. Undoubtedly, all the gadgets we have today help us to get in
touch with people separated from us both by distance and by time; but many a time,
at the cost of being disconnected from people sitting right next to us. These
days, we don’t look at people’s eyes when we talk to them. Instead, we stare at
a 5” screen!

When
we indulge ourselves in such Earth hours, there will be times when all that
engulfs us might be darkness. There will be long moments which will be drowned in
silence. But it is such moments of darkness which will help us discover the
twinkle in our loved ones’ eyes.

Sunday, 28 June 2015

We
are living in a day and age where information is no more an elitist entity.
There was a time when information was available only to a select few who had
either the access or the resources to engage and please people who had that
kind of access. Today, the tables have turned. One is blinded by information.
There are numerous channels where information is available.

Let
us begin with electronic media. A political leader’s speech or a business
leader’s conference or a film star’s movie launch or a cricket match is being telecast live. No one is waiting till the next morning to get these updates.
But, not all of us are in a position to analyze the outcomes of the above
events. More importantly, many of us lack the expertise to understand what sort
of an impact the above events might have in our lives. This can be facilitated
by an expert in that field who can be a news reporter.

Also,
when an event of importance occurs, one might not know how it originated. Many
a time, we get to see only a Ratan Tata driving out the first Nano car from
Sanand. One might not know what relevance Mamta Banerjee has in this context. Here
is where a good news paper’s researched article comes handy. Gone are the days
when a reporter used to print verbatim of a speech. In today’s world, we have already
seen it live. All I am interested in knowing is how is it going to affect me,
my family, my state and my country. Good Newspapers tell you that.

The
next medium is the all pervasive Internet! I love internet. But Internet is
like that friend of ours who keeps us updated about our social circle but has a
tendency to lie. The sad part is we always get to know that our friend has lied
only after a long while. The same is the case with our dear internet. There is
a lot of misinformation floating around the web. If eminent people like Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam come to know of the kind of quotes attributed to him in the
internet, he would want to logout permanently. As much as information it gives,
there is no way to know the truth from the fallacy. Here is where one should read a news paper.

I
am not saying newspapers do not mis-report. They also do. But it happens much
rarely than on the internet. Also, like us humans, internet is also good at
pointing out mistakes in others. So when a newspaper gets some facts wrong,
there will be enough and more trolls on the internet that you will come to know
sooner that there was a mis-reporting.

Thanks
to our busy-to-breathe lifestyle, none of us have the time or inclination to
read and understand about things outside our periphery of concern. The chances
of a person working in IT seeking out and reading about Infant mortality rate
in our country is very thin. Same is the case with a banker reading up on Cloud
technology and its business impacts. A good newspaper will cover almost entire
spectrum of various realms of our lives which one should
be at least aware of in order to effectively play the part of a contributing
citizen towards the society we live in .

Wednesday, 24 June 2015

*We, all diehard F.R.I.E.N.D.S fanatics have been waiting forever for the best sitcom ever made on Television, to resume. Here is an attempt to look at what our favorite characters are up to these days.

Joey was at the shoot of DOUL – The
movie. There was such a demand among the fans of Dr. Drake Ramoray that the
makers of ‘Days of our lives’ had to make it in to a movie. He was trying out a
scene where a friend of his lady love was telling him about a tragic neurological
disorder. The impact of the disorder was that Drake’s girlfriend loses the
ability to understand the concept of loyalty in a relationship. The director
was telling Joey that Drake is heartbroken when he listens to this. Joey did
not understand why it is such a bad news for Drake. He was arguing with his
director that in fact Drake should celebrate such news!

Phoebe was a frequent visitor to
Dr. Gupta’s house these days. They used to have long discussions about extra
terrestrial life, the concept of religion, the stupidity of humans’ perceived
superiority over animals and such. Mike was not very happy with these meetings.
“Phoebe, don’t you think our neighbor is a bit weird?”, Mike asked. People
consider me also to be weird Mike. “There is a difference Phoebe. You are the
kind of weird person whom one wants to love to bits. Mr. Gupta is the kind of
weird person who makes you want to dial 911.” No wonder I love you so much. I
did marry a man who knows his way with words. Well done Phoebs!, Phoebe
wondered aloud. He is a good guy Mike. Just that he phases out at times. When I
ask him where he went, he says he was floating around on the periphery of
Himalayas! How cool is that? One day, I will also go along with him. “You do
know that a ticket to and from India will cost us a bomb, right phoebe?” This
is the problem with you lesser mortals! I am talking about extra sensory perceptive
time travel, Mike. “See, now you have even started talking like him! You are
freaking me out Phoebe”. Ha ha, aren’t you used to it by now my dear husband?

Ross went over to Monica and
Chandler’s place. “Mon, I am thinking of going to Paris. I kind of miss Rachel.
What do you think?”. I think you should take me along. These babies are after
my life! They don’t let me sleep, eat or live! What do they want from me?” Ross
turned towards Chandler. “Dude, what so you think? Should I go?” When you are
booking tickets, try and check if all three of us can sit near to each other.
That way, I can keep you both entertained during the journey. May be I should
take it up as a profession! I can entertain all the passengers on board.
I will be the first flying comedian! “Chandler, the airline and the passengers
will sue you for mental agony and torture”, said Ross. The first signature on that petition will
be mine, signed – Mrs. Bing!, added Monica.

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

One
of the early memories I have from childhood is accompanying my mother to the local market. While we walked back to our home, I asked her as to why she
bargains so much? She told me that it is something she imbibed from her mother.
My grandmother used to say that “One never has too much money to not bargain”.
My mother told me that the science of economics and common sense says that one
should always strive to maximize utility out of something one buys or owns.

It
is said one of the reasons why Asian countries are prospering slowly and
steadily has much to do with the habit of saving that people of the continent
have. Interesting is the fact that austerity is not limited to people with
limited income. Even people who have considerable disposable income keep their
ears and eyes open while opening their wallets or swiping their cards these
days. I must say the much appreciated Airline world over; Lufthansa has so very
rightly tapped in to this very ethos of Indian consumer. Them being a premier
airline from Europe, one would assume that their prime focus would be on luxury
and comfort. But very swiftly, they realized what I would like to call the ‘mindful
spending’ attitude of the Indian traveler. This is exactly why they launched
Lufthansa’s Premium Economy ( http://premium-economy.lufthansa.com/ ).
To someone who is a stranger to the most beautiful expression of diversity that
is India, ‘Premium Economy’ might sound like an Oxymoron. But if you are
Indian, it just makes absolute sense.

I
do not know how many of you watched the Advertisement of Lufthansa which talks
about having an Indian Heart. A Grandfather very sweetly tells his grandson
that Lufthansa is German and how they are different. The advertisement goes on
to show that the airline is as Indian as it comes! My sister recently traveled to Atlanta on a Lufthansa flight. She says that the advertisement could not be truer.
She says one should have seen the delight on the cabin crew’s face when she was
bringing an Indian meal for my sister and that she almost felt at home.

The
other day, my fiancee and I were discussing as to where we should go on our
honey moon. We were discussing locations and airlines. Fretting over the recent
media reports, my lady did mention to me that she would prefer an airline that
would understand our sensibilities in a better way. Having known all of what I have read till
date, I can see myself almost looking at a boarding pass with LH printed on it.
One knows when the women in the family recommend about something, one should
always lend an ear ;)

Thursday, 14 May 2015

Conspiracy against
Women?

I
was reading this book, ‘In the land of invisible women’ by Qanta A. Ahmed. It
talks about life of women in Saudi Arabia. There was one interesting
observation by the author which struck me. There, the women dress up for women.
The laws of the land are such that women and men cannot meet socially as freely
as they do in other countries. As a result of which, interaction between two
sexes are extremely limited. If a woman buys an expensive jewelry or a great
dress or goes to a parlor, it is not to impress anyone from the other gender.
It is for one’s own kind, the women folk to see and appreciate.

Initially,
I found it as an interesting observation. Then I felt, isn’t it the same in our
country? Yes, most of the women tell us that they are doing all the efforts
w.r.t presenting themselves well for the men around them. But how many times has
their husband or boyfriend or any man in their lives taken notice whenever they
have made some change about how they look? Look at something as simple as a
haircut. Many a time, we men fail to notice that change. But their girlfriends
notice it without fail, every single time! For us to notice a change in the ear
ring, it has to be the size of a mini mammoth. But women can spot it from a
mile away.

The
conspiracy that I am talking about here is the one which women are doing
against women, most of them without realizing it. So if women stop judging
other women on the kind of clothes one wears, make up they put on, accessories
they choose to flaunt, life becomes much easier for everyone around. For instance,
try and watch the fairness cream advertisements. In most of them, after a woman
uses a fairness cream, the response or the reaction comes from another group of
ladies and not a guy. In some of them, men are completely absent. When a multinational
firm designs an advertisement, it is very conscious about its target group. If
men were key influencers, they will definitely be there in the advertisement.
The fact that presence of a man is minimal in such advertisements points to the
fact that men are not an influencing group in this regard. Even the voice over
is that of a woman in almost all the Ads.

So
if you try and play down the appreciations or the passing remarks based on how
one presents one self, you might save an annual expenditure to the tune of
about $950 Million. That is the size of cosmetics industry in our country. Also, many a time feminism emerges only when a woman is being attacked by the other gender. Somehow the thought of a woman putting down another woman doesn't knock on the feminist conscience! Don't you think it should arise as a support system for the fellow women rather than adding one more aspect to be bothered about? It will be nice to be empathetic ( Thank you my friend, Harleen for putting this seed of thought) rather than pointing out flaws.

Now,
before some of yours claws come out, let me tell you that we the men
folk also fall prey to such conspiracies. What we fall for are things like
white goods, sports shoes, high end watches and such.

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Designed in to thinking…

It was a day like any other. Ayush
went for breakfast and saw his colleague, Harsh sitting alone at a table. He
has been a bit aloof these days. Even for the previous team lunch, Harsh was
not very participative; a drastic change from the spirited fresher that he was
when he joined Ayush’s team.

There were some calls to be made and
some mails to be responded to. Once that was done, Ayush asked Harsh to join
him for tea. He declined saying he had some deliverables. Ayush asked him if he
will be available by afternoon and Harsh said yes. Ayush went back to his desk
and went through Harsh’s performance. It started showing a decline from March,
about 3 months from now. There were a couple of mails to which he responded late,
he started coming late to office and there were some heated exchange of words
with some team members which was very unlike him.

At the tea table, Ayush asked Harsh
how his weekend was. Harsh replied :“Usual”. Harsh, do you know what I remember
of you when you joined as a fresher? As someone who always asked questions. To be
frank ,too many at times J.
But, it always made the team think of the alternatives and the possibilities.
These days, you are awfully silent! “Ayush, you are right. There was a time
when I used to ask questions. Then I realized as to what is the need? Why should
I do this? More importantly, who is listening?” That is not true. We are all
listening. “May be, but no one responds Ayush.”

Harsh, you remember that meeting where
the VP called you ‘Auto reply’? J. He was praising the swiftness
with which you reply to mails. I was surprised that my team’s Auto reply is
having a delay of about 2 hours these days! "Ayush, you also know what
happened when I sent that mail to AVP. My manager came and told me it should go
through him! So now, I am routing everything through him. He is the one causing
that extra hour’s delay”. Oh, that must be really frustrating. Let me see what can be done.

The article that you shared the other day
about emerging trends was really good. So it looks like changes are going to
happen sooner than we all think, isn’t it? “Yes, Ayush. Apparently, analytics
is emerging as a large opportunity. I had presented a paper on emerging trends
in analytics when I was in college. Back then, 'Data scientists' sounded like a fancy
designation. But today, it is almost common place.” Harsh got a call and both
of them went back to desk.

Ayush decided to do something about the Harsh's situation which in a way wasa reflection of the team itself. He
recollected the conversation they had and tried to put them down in to action
items. He opened a notepad and it is then that he noticed the white board next
to him on his desk. He hadn’t used it for quite a long time. He started drawing
whatever came to his mind. He drew pictures of question marks, coffee table, a
team, laptop, mail box, letters, newspaper and a person chasing a milestone.
Then, he sent out a mailer to his peers and told them that there are certain
aspects w.r.t the team which needs their immediate attention. He took pictures
of the doodling he had done and made it in to a crisp power point presentation.
They huddled in to a conference room and started discussing about what can be
done regarding these concerns. Ayush mentioned that these are insights from
discussions he has had from some of the junior members of the team. All of them
brainstormed and came up with things to do.

The next day, he sent out a mailer
called “Game changer series#1”. It read thus:

Dear Friends,

You
all are a great team to work with. We all have grown and evolved through each other’s
support. Having said that, there is always room for improvement. This is an endeavor
to achieve a better camaraderie between our team members and to further each of
ours growth.

We
have come up with some suggestions as below. Please reflect on them and we
would love to hear from you.

1.A
weekly meeting for us to talk, get to know each other more, ask questions and
if possible, come up with some ideas.

2.If
you have something to share with the team, share on the “wall of ideas” which
will be put up in our workplace. You can share a picture of it over mail with
the larger team.

3.Share
with us an area of interest you would want to work on and improve. Seniors in
the team will help you through mentoring or suggesting courses.

About our team, please write :I like---- (what you like about the team) &I wish---- (what if included will make you happier)

This
is a starting point. Let’s get the ball rolling.

Warm
Regards,

Ayush

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I have tried to weave the concept
of ‘Design thinking’ around this story. Please let me know your thoughts.